Strictly Come Dancing returned for its sixth series on 20 September 2008 on BBC One. Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly returned as co-presenters of the main show on BBC One, while Claudia Winkleman returned to present the spin-off show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two on BBC Two. Len Goodman, Arlene Phillips, Craig Revel Horwood, and Bruno Tonioli returned as judges. The show featured sixteen celebrities paired with sixteen professional dancers. The new professionals were Brian Fortuna and Hayley Holt, who had previously appeared in the American and New Zealand versions of the show respectively, and Russian dancer Kristina Rihanoff, who had taken part in the Dancing with the Stars tour. Nicole Cutler was the only professional from the previous series not to return. On 20 December 2008, actor Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup were announced as the winners, while S Club 7 singer Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone finished in second place, and television presenter Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole finished in third.

Format

The couples dance each week in a live show. The judges score each performance out of ten. The couples are then ranked according to the judges' scores and given points according to their rank, with the lowest scored couple receiving one point, and the highest scored couple receiving the most points (the maximum number of points available depends on the number of couples remaining in the competition). The public are also invited to vote for their favourite couples, and the couples are ranked again according to the number of votes they receive, again receiving points; the couple with the fewest votes receiving one point, and the couple with the most votes receiving the most points. The points for judges' score and public vote are then added together, and the two couples with the fewest points are placed in the bottom two. If two couples have equal points, the points from the public vote are given precedence. As with the previous series, the bottom two couples have to perform a dance-off on the results show. Based on that performance alone, each judge then votes on which couple should stay and which couple should leave, with Len Goodman, as head judge, having the last and deciding vote. However, the situation was different on 13 December 2008, when it was announced on the live results show that all three couples would be going through to the finale, regardless of the judges' scores and the public vote. This was due to a tie at the top of the leaderboard, which made it mathematically impossible for Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup to avoid the dance-off. Despite this, viewers were encouraged to vote. All phone votes cast were carried on to the finale.

Couples

This series featured sixteen celebrity contestants.

Scoring chart

The highest score each week is indicated in with a dagger (†), while the lowest score each week is indicated in with a double-dagger (‡). Color key: • {{legend|gold|Winners}} • {{legend|silver|Runners-up}} • {{legend|tan|Third place}} • {{legend|lightblue|Bottom two}} • {{legend|lightgreen|Withdrew from competition}} • {{legend|#f4c7b8|Eliminated}}

Weekly scores

Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.

Week 1

Musical guest: Bette Midler — "Wind Beneath My Wings" Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the cha-cha-cha or the waltz. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group cha-cha-cha that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 2

Musical guest: Sugababes — "Girls" Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the foxtrot or the salsa. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group merengue that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 3

Musical guest: Andrea Bocelli — "Canto della Terra" Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the jive or the tango. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group swing dance that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 4

Musical guest: Simply Red — "Something Got Me Started" Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the quickstep or the rumba. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group rueda that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 5

Musical guests: Couples performed either the American Smooth or the samba, and are listed in the order they performed.

Week 6

Musical guest: Enrique Iglesias — "Hero" Couples performed either the paso doble or the Viennese waltz, and are listed in the order they performed.

Week 7

Musical guest: Stereophonics — "Handbags and Gladrags" Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 8

Musical guest: Beyonce — "If I Were a Boy" Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 9

Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 10

John Sergeant withdrew from the competition earlier in the week, but he and Kristina Rihanoff still performed their waltz, although it was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 11

Musical guest: Estelle — "American Boy" Each couple performed two routines. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 12: Quarterfinal

Musical guest: Barry Manilow — "Copacabana" Each couple performed two routines. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 13: Semifinal

Musical guests: Cast of Chicago — "All That Jazz" Each couple performed two routines, one of which was the Argentine tango. There was no elimination at the end of the night due to an issue with the scoring system discovered after the show. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 14: Final

Musical guest: Duffy — "Mercy" Each couple performed their favourite ballroom dance, their favourite Latin dance, and their showdance routine. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Dance chart

The couples performed the following each week:

Ratings

Weekly ratings for each show on BBC One. All ratings are provided by BARB.